Where I currently hang my kippa every morning the rabbi is a makpeed about the proper time to don tallit and tefillin.
He has a paper version of MyZmanim (http://www.myzmanim.com); it lists (MyZmanim's spelling)
- Dawn
- Earliest Talis & Tefillin
- Sunrise
- Latest Shema
- Latest Shachris
- Midday & Midnight
- Earliest Mincha
- Mincha Ketana
- Plag HaMincha
- Candle Lighting
- Sunset
- Nightfall
- End of Ordained Fasts
- Proportional Hour
Korbanote are scheduled for 6:15 year round, with shacharit (shachris) starting at 6:30. Well and good.
But the earliest talit & tefillin is getting later and later. Today, 20 Kislev, the earliest time ranges from 6:09 to 6:15. On 26 Kislev the earliest time is even later; from 6:12 to 6:18.
Why?
By rabbinical fiat, there must be sufficient light so a person can identify his friend, or perhaps tell the difference between a white and a kahalet string.
That was valid when the rabbis came up with the requirement, but is it valid today?
When I enter the synagogue building, the guy with the key turns on one electric light. I walk around and turn on others.
I have sufficient light to read my sedur, to read the rabbi's MyZmanim printout, to identify everyone as they make their appearance.
People have to go to work. Some either have to show up early; some have to fight traffic to show up at the "usual" start of the work day hour.
Waiting until 6:18 to don tzit-tzit can make a person late to work.
The options?
Be late.
Ignore the rabbinical fiat.
My suggestion is that the rabbis need to realize this is the 21st century, that most areas of the world are electrified and that while the sun may be minutes or hours away from rising, we CAN identify our neighbors or define kahalet from white with the aid of electric lights.
"But they had candles and lamps 'back in the day'. "
True, but candles and lamps were pricy; electric lights and the electricity to illuminate them are, in this day and age, relatively INexpensive.
Do we have any down-to-earth rabbis with enough prestige to free us from the constraints of the clock?
I'm not suggesting a change in when we welcome or bid good bye to Shabat or haggim; I'm not even suggesting that with sparkless electrical switches that turning electric lights on and off on Shabat such activity should be allowed.
No.
All I want is to the rabbis of today to realize that the conditions facing the rabbis of long ago are different and the reasons, the logic, of the former need review in light of the conditions today.
